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Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District: Goal of Riverwalk extension to provide safe route

By Ken Burger

Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District Board Chairman

Posted:
01/12/2018 01:33:07 PM MST

On the Jan. 9 agenda of the regular board meeting of the Canon City Area Recreation and Park District was the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail Extension project. The inception of the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail began in 1980, with the idea to develop a recreational trail from Sells to McKenzie avenues.

As the plan evolved through the early 1980s, the trail as envisioned would extend to Florence and beyond, by acquiring an easement for the trail from the Lincoln Park Sanitation District on land above their sewer line. This trail has become an important recreational asset and has been described as a jewel of our community.

The desire of the community to extend the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail eastward was addressed in the 1997 Eastern Fremont County Trails Master Plan and again in the 2015 Eastern Fremont County Trails, Open Space and River Corridor Master Plan.

The Recreation District now is working in conjunction with the City of Florence, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation, to proceed with the design and development of the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail extension from MacKenzie Avenue to Florence River Park. DHM Design, a professional design and planning firm, has been conducting the study and assessment of trail route options for the project. Their process involved seeking additional public input through landowner and adjoining landowner meetings.

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A local Technical Work Group comprised of representatives from local agencies and citizen groups, including the City of Florence, the Canon City Area Recreation and Park District, Fremont County, the City of Canon City, Fremont Sanitation District, Canonland Walkers and Hikers, the Fremont County Farm Bureau, and Florence residents. They met periodically for the last four months to discuss potential trail route options. There were seven options considered for the furthest west one mile of this trail extension project from the Mackenzie Trailhead to McCumber Lane.

Throughout this process, the consultant or members of the TWG met with the majority of landowners and adjoining landowners to these routes seeking their input, including an initial meeting with CDOT representatives. These meetings also involved the Adamic, Oloman, Telck, Lund, Self, McConnell, Bufmack, Talbert, Mata and Lindner families.

After these various meetings with the above landowners / adjoining landowners, the TWG met Jan. 4 to assess the options and then determine a recommended route. Because of a number of factors, including respecting private property owners decisions to not grant easements for the trail, the too narrow CDOT right-of -way along Colo. 115, the lack of ADA compliance and the inability of using land north of the river near an active rail line and DOC property, the only viable route remaining for the beginning portion of the western section of the project to McCumber Lane is on land publicly owned by the Fremont Sanitation District.

From McCumber Lane east toward Pathfinder Regional Park, two farming families already have agreed to provide easements for the trail. The liability issue for the proposed new section of trail will fall under the Recreation District and not on the adjacent landowners.

The first segment of the recommended trail route extension from MacKenzie Avenue would be located on existing Fremont Sanitation District owned land, which currently bisects the Adamic family's eastern pasture. Their ranch is already divided by MacKenzie Avenue, Colo. 115, Fremont Sanitation District land on the west and the Arkansas River.

The goal of this project is to provide a safe route for pedestrian and bicycle travel between the communities of Canon City and Florence. A traffic study provided by CDOT shows that over a recent five-year period there were 56 accidents on the two-mile stretch of Colo. 115 between McKenzie Avenue and the entrance to Pathfinder Regional Park. Of these accidents, 13 reported injuries and two resulted in fatalities. It has been determined by CDOT there is not a wide-enough shoulder to support a trail. For non-motorized transportation between the two communities, this recommended route for the trail extension is important for public safety.

The Recreation District understands that there will be impacts to the adjoining landowners. The impacts of recreational trails on farming and ranching operations are not new. Through the years and through miles of trails, with cooperation, various ways to mitigate the trail impacts on adjoining landowner operations have been identified to allow for the coexistence of the two.

The Canon City Area Recreation and Park District has offered the following mitigation efforts to address and minimize these impacts:

• New woven wire field fencing

• Long-term maintenance of the new fencing

• Dual 6-foot box culvert for cattle crossing at grade, with the trail going up and over to provide continuous access to the river for cattle to water

• New gates for continued vehicle and equipment access, utilizing the existing crossing

• New tree shelter belts

• Signage: including private property, no trespass and educational

These mitigation improvements are estimated to cost more than $100,000.

If an easement is granted by the Fremont Sanitation District, DHM Design is planning to have additional meetings with the landowners / adjoining landowners so that the mitigation features become part of the actual design and development phase of the project. This will not only guarantee the features will become part of the plan, it also will give an accurate cost for trail development.

At the January meeting of the Recreation Board, it was approved to request an easement from the Fremont Sanitation District for this section of trail. Our two Districts have a successful history of cooperation that dates back 30 years. Together, we provide dual public use of land owned by the Sanitation District as the improved access for the maintenance of the main interceptor sewer line and the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail from Ash to MacKenzie avenues.

This trail extension project has seen continued community support by the citizens we serve as emphasized in the 1997 Trails Master Plan, 2015 Eastern Fremont County Trails, Open Space and River Corridor Master Plan and the 2017 Canon City citizen survey, which showed 81 percent of the respondents in favor of the extension of the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail to Florence.

The Arkansas Riverwalk Trail is the most popular outdoor recreational amenity in our community. The proposed extension will not only add length to the trail amenity, but most importantly provide a safe transportation route for pedestrians and bicyclists between our two communities.

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